The Fine Art of SmudgingWritten by Sam Stevens
An Aboriginal Canadian friend of mine who teaches at Whispering Lodge in Toronto was explaining to me how physical or emotional healing cannot take place until person is cleansed of any of following conditions: 1) Emotional conditions such as resentment, bitterness, envy, jealousy and guilt 2) Negative thoughts about others or one's past or future 3) Negative emotions such as grief, hatred, desire 4) Bad or evil spirits 5) Attachments or negative energy sent to us from other people In most Aboriginal traditions, a sweat lodge, basically a tent or teepee or cave filled with smoke and heat, is used to remedy sick person of these conditions. In ancient Rome, buildings called purgatoriums were used for same purpose. These smoke and heat filled places were considered sacred spaces in which spirits or God could lift negative entities and energies from an individual without interference with others. Many indigenous cultures throughout world use burning herbs, plants and resins to accomplish same purpose. In some cultures smoke is taken into one's hands and rubbed over body to blacken it. This is where modern day practice got its nickname -- smudging. Below is a list of common herb, plants, grasses and resins that are commonly used in smudging ceremonies. You can light these substances yourself and carry a bundle of substance around your home in a counter-clockwise circle to cleanse your space. I highly recommend cleansing body outside, however, as I have found that sage can burn very fast and create a lot of rapid whirling smoke that easily sets off fire alarm.Sage Sprigs - most common substance used for cleansing is sage. The word sage comes from Latin word Salvia which means, "to heal." There are also varieties of sage, which are from Artemisia family of plants. This includes mugwort which s used for cleansing and protection. White sage is used for cleansing and protection. Combining branches of pine and white sages together and burning them is used to attract prosperity.
| | Obesity: Consequences and CuresWritten by Larry Denton
When it comes to obesity, an ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure. According to goverment surveys, nearly 60 million Americans are obese and 9 million are extremely obese.There are many reasons for people who are obese to lose weight. Taking charge of your weight is one of best ways to stay healthy and live a longer, more productive life. Staying motivated is a big part of weight loss success, because all diets work--if you stick to them. Most successful dieters tell health care providers that they lost weight and kept it off by doing their own thing. In other words, they devised a personal plan they could literally live with. According to National Institutes of Health, in 1999, almost 108 million Americans were overweight or obese. These conditions substantially increase risk of morbidity from hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder problems, sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and breast, colon and prostate cancers. Please use this site to help set goals for your weight loss and learn about several factors that influence your weight. Remember, there are no "super foods" that either cause you to gain weight or lose weight. The answer is in number of calories consumed and amount of exercise used to burn off those calories. The terms overweight and obesity are used by health experts to indicate increased body weight in relation to height, when compared to some standard of acceptable or desirable weight. Health care providers use body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference measurements to provide useful estimates of overweight, obesity, and body fat distribution. Body mass index (BMI) is most common measure of expressing relationship (ratio) or weight to height. A BMI or 18.5 to 24.9 is considered healthy. A person with BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and a person with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.
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